If the Blue Jackets experience a scoring dry spell against the Detroit Red Wings,
expect team officials to take a hard look at playing 18-year-old center Nikita Filatov.

Filatov, the Jackets' first-round draft pick (sixth overall) in 2008, is among a group of
minor-league call-ups that has swelled the postseason roster to 29. Many in the hockey operations
department believe he is the Jackets' most skilled forward and probably the third-best skater. He
scored a hat trick during a brief stay in January.

If the Blue Jackets have trouble scoring and start losing, the temptation to play Filatov,
especially on the power play, will be difficult to resist. He had 16 goals and 16 assists in 39
games with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League.

It seems as if Ohio State is always planning to throw to the tight end more and
never doing it. But it might not be a stretch to say that redshirt freshman Jake Stoneburner, a
converted receiver from Dublin Coffman, could change that.

Stoneburner, 6-5 and 230 pounds, is giving the Buckeyes a different look in spring practice, and
the potential is there for success. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor likes to look over the middle for
receivers, and with Stoneburner at tight end, he could create matchup problems for opposing
defenses.

"Jake Stoneburner, I think, is going to be a guy who adds a little bit to our offensive look,"
coach Jim Tressel said.

Last season, Purdue (Dustin Keller) and Wisconsin (Travis Beckhum) had tight ends similar to
Stoneburner -- that is, tight ends more in name than in practice -- and both were integral parts of
the passing game.

The New York Giants have reportedly reopened trade talks for Cleveland Browns
receiver Braylon Edwards.
The New York Daily News called acquiring Edwards "Plan A" for replacing Plaxico
Burress, whom the Giants released April 3.

But the Browns reportedly are seeking a package that includes a first-round draft pick. The
Giants' pick, 29th overall, reportedly is available.

Cleveland officials apparently are also interested in defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, but a
Giants source said they have no intention of trading him.

If the Giants can't get Edwards or Arizona's Anquan Boldin, they might try to move up in the
draft to acquire a better receiver than will be available at No. 29.

Payne, who reportedly has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, has made unofficial visits to Ohio State, Dayton,
Xavier and West Virginia. He already plays on the All-Ohio Red AAU team with Ohio State recruits
Jared Sullinger of Northland and Jordan Sibert of Cincinnati Princeton. Boals coaches post players,
so that could help the Buckeyes, too.

Ohio State still hasn't confirmed Boals' hiring. By state law, the school is required to post
the job opening for a week before it can announce a hiring. Boals would replace Archie Miller, who
left this week to join his brother, former Xavier coach Sean Miller, at Arizona.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski told the
Cincinnati Enquirer that Xavier's turnover in men's basketball coaches doesn't
bother him much. Besides Miller, in recent years Skip Prosser has left for Wake Forest and Matta
for Ohio State.

"It's just reality," Bobinski said. "The free marketplace is alive and well in the coaching
world. Am I sorry that Skip left, that Thad left, that Sean left? Sure. (But) we're fine. Life has
gone on.

"In fact, life has gotten better each time. (Miller) kicked (butt) for five years for us. Look
where we are today. I'd like to be more upset about it. But I'm not."

The new coach is Chris Mack, a Xavier graduate.

Former Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant is a candidate to become coach and
general manager of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Sea Dogs president Wayne Long said that the team isn't interested in any candidate "with one eye
on our team and one eye trying to get back to the NHL." Saint John is trying to become the host of
the 2012 Memorial Cup, Canada's junior hockey championship.

Gallant was an assistant with the New York Islanders for the 2007-08 season.

Cincinnati is trying to land baseball's All-Star Game for 2013, the earliest
available date for a National League city. The game was last in Cincinnati in 1988.

When a team isn't winning, a week can make a big difference.

Last week, Crew technical director Brian Bliss said the team "trusts its players" and wasn't
planning any roster changes. This week, the Crew took a hard look at left back David Topolski
during a reserve game with Marshall University.

Topolski traveled to Columbus from his Pittsburgh home and played 90 minutes. Two other guest
players with local connections played one half each. Topolski, who has Polish citizenship, has
played on several teams in Poland but recently completed the indoor season with New Jersey of the
Xtreme Soccer League.

There are greater concerns than the Crew's 0-2-3 start. The roster has taken a serious hit from
injuries and national team call-ups, and officials are looking for healthy bodies. Topolski can
play in the midfield, too.

Mark Johnson, a defensive end from Los Angeles who left Ohio State last fall and
turned up at Findlay, a Division II school, has not practiced this spring. The
Findlay Courier reported that "His status with the team is uncertain."

There is a heightened sense of urgency at Wisconsin this spring after the Badgers football team stumbled to a 3-5 record
and sixth-place finish in the Big Ten.

Coach Bret Bielema, in his third season as athletic director Barry Alvarez's successor, is
reacting accordingly.

He interviewed all 98 players this spring and said, "We have made changes in every area."

He's taking a greater role in coaching the special teams, has replaced the strength coach and
has his players weightlifting by position group, rather than class schedule. The idea is "to try to
build some chemistry within those groups and try to get them to compete against each other on a
daily basis."